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Legislation that would allow meat processing plants to shut down due to the Covid-19 outbreaks has yet to be enacted by the government despite a recommendation four months ago that it should.
The National Outbreak Control Team (NOCT) urged the Minister of Health to enact the regulations in July in a report on a number of Covid-19 clusters in meat factories.
The recommendation followed an investigation by the multi-agency team into how outbreaks in meat plants occurred and were managed at the start of the pandemic.
It was done just weeks before the government imposed restrictions on Kildare, Offaly and Laois, due to a significant increase in Covid-19 cases in the three counties that were related to outbreaks in meat factories.
The NOCT said it had received legal advice that the government could approve powers to close meat factories as part of legislation introduced earlier in the year to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
However, despite the NOCT urging Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to immediately enact regulations that could do so, a spokesman for his department said. TheJournal.ie that the recommendation has not yet been met.
SIPTU’s manufacturing division organizer Greg Ennis said he was “not surprised” by what he described as the government’s “inaction” in passing the regulations.
“As of now, a series of similar recommendations are on a desk as meat factory workers contract Covid-19,” he said.
“I really fear there will be more outbreaks unless the government acts.”
Cluster Research
The NOCT report came after the number of Covid-19 cases associated with meat processing plants became a significant proportion of Ireland’s daily total.
As of early July, about 1 in 25 confirmed cases of the virus could be traced back to transmission in meat plants.
The latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Center show that there have been 58 clusters and more than 1,800 cases of Covid-19 linked to meat, fish and poultry processing plants to date.
Last week four new outbreaks were reported, of which 15 are currently active (i.e. with one case reported in the last 28 days).
Those working in the meat industry have been considered essential workers since the start of the pandemic, and the fact that many workers in meat factories are migrants and live in reduced living conditions was also cited as a cause of the rapid spread of cases.
Unions have also claimed that working conditions led to the further spread of the virus in those settings.
This week, a report from the Migrant Rights Center Ireland claimed that poor health and safety practices in meat factories showed a “more arrogant disregard” for workers, a claim that was later rejected by Meat Industry Ireland.
After clusters on plants in April and May, the NOCT was established to investigate by reviewing the evidence on outbreaks and to develop a national guide on how to prevent new clusters.
The report, delivered on July 27, made 19 recommendations supported by international evidence, local epidemiology, and local best practices.
The NOCT noted that meat factory workers were “especially prone to Covid-19 outbreaks” and that the causes driving such outbreaks were varied in nature.
He also warned that although certain infection control measures could reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in a meat factory, the decision to close a plant “may be considered necessary” in certain circumstances.
In their second of 19 recommendations, the team urged the Minister of Health to enact regulations allowing plant closures under Section 31A of the Health Act of 1947 (inserted under the Health (Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures) Act of Public Interest)) Law of 2020).
Work in progress’
However, a statement from the Department of Health said the recommendation had not yet been met.
“Work is underway in the Department to consider options in this regard,” said a spokesman.
The spokesperson added that HSE’s public health departments had responded quickly to the emerging outbreaks and that several meat plants had suspended operations for a period of time in accordance with public health recommendations.
There is also a national serial testing program for meat industry workers in the hopes of detecting new Covid-19 cases as they arise, although this was briefly suspended in September when the capacity of Ireland’s testing system reached its peak. limit.
SIPTU’s Greg Ennis called on the government to enact the NOCT recommendation for the welfare of meat factory workers.
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“Frankly, it borders on the exploitation of workers, and no worker’s safety should be compromised in the unbridled drive for turnover and profits,” he said.
“These recommendations must be implemented immediately.”
This week, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue told Dáil that his department had secured funds that will be available starting next week to hire researchers to find solutions to help control Covid-19 doubt streaks in the meat factories.
In response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy, the minister said that a study at an Irish plant had established that recirculation of cold air in meat factories could be a particular risk in Irish meat plants.
He added that funding had been requested for additional studies like this one, including with a research group and a meat processor involved in investigating a large outbreak at a meat processing plant in Germany.
Earlier this month, McConalogue also told Social Democrats TD Holly Cairns that more than 42,190 samples had been tested under the serial testing program in meat plants, with 219 positive cases detected, yielding an overall positivity rate of the 0.52% at that time.
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